Lions – Is, Was and Will Be – The Unknown Character of Christ and His Word

The Book of Daniel – Dan 6:1-28 Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee

Tony Cullen — Fri, 29 Mar 2024 22:29:17 +0000

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Dan 6:1-28 Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee

[Study Aired March 28, 2024]

Dan 6:1 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom;
Dan 6:2 And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage.
Dan 6:3 Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.
Dan 6:4 Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.
Dan 6:5 Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.
Dan 6:6 Then these presidents and princes assembled together to the king, and said thus unto him, King Darius, live for ever.
Dan 6:7 All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.
Dan 6:8 Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.
Dan 6:9 Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree.
Dan 6:10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.
Dan 6:11 Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God.
Dan 6:12 Then they came near, and spake before the king concerning the king’s decree; Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.
Dan 6:13 Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day.
Dan 6:14 Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him.
Dan 6:15 Then these men assembled unto the king, and said unto the king, Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, That no decree nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed.
Dan 6:16 Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.
Dan 6:17 And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel.
Dan 6:18 Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him.
Dan 6:19 Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions.
Dan 6:20 And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?
Dan 6:21 Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever.
Dan 6:22 My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.
Dan 6:23 Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.
Dan 6:24 And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den.
Dan 6:25 Then king Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you.
Dan 6:26 I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and stedfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end.
Dan 6:27 He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.
Dan 6:28 So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

Darius’ kingdom that proceeds after Nebuchadnezzar is represented by the breast and arms of silver on the statue found in Daniel 2:32. This section of the statue that Nebuchadnezzar dreamed of is then further developed in its description in Daniel 7:5.

Dan 2:32 This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,

Dan 7:5 And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.

The first composite beast of Nebuchadnezzar’s empire has its power over land and the air with symbolic beasts that rule in both of these areas – a lion and an eagle (Dan 7:4). The bear which describes Darius’ empire is another beast that devours flesh, and both of these empires are used by God to do just that. The pattern continues with the last two empires on the statue, revealing more beastly creatures that have dominion over flesh to destroy it (Dan 7:6-7). It is through the destruction of flesh that life comes (1Co 15:21-22, Gal 2:20).

There is an inward application to these empires within God’s elect that we are given dominion over as a result of Christ ruling in our hearts and minds, His wrath abiding on the beasts that are being destroyed little by little (Joh 3:36, Joh 8:36). The lion of the tribe of Judah (Rev 5:5) is greater than the lion who is the god of this world (1Pe 5:8), and the positive example of the eagle expressed in John’s gospel reminds us that Christ soars higher than all the powers and principalities against which we war that are in the heavens (Eph 6:12, Eph 1:21).

The statue of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream represents the man of perdition who must be destroyed by the brightness of Christ’s coming within us (2Th 2:3-6), and it is by God’s goodness that we can acknowledge today those powers and principalities of our former conversation and be given dominion over them through Him (Eph 2:3, Rom 2:4). All of humanity has to come to see these beasts as describing who they are themselves and not someone else. The dream is one, and all these beasts described in multifaceted ways all represent the same beast, which is mankind (Ecc 3:18-19, Rev 13:18, Rev 15:2).

Rev 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

In the final analysis, both Nebuchadnezzar and Darius declare Daniel’s God as being the One to Whom their respective empires should pay homage (Dan 3:28, Dan 6:26). God’s elect are judged today (1Pe 4:17) acknowledging who we are as mere beasts of the field, even as we come to see the new creation being formed within us making all things new (2Co 5:17-18). So we not only acknowledge God or believe on Him, but through Christ continue to believe and suffer for His name’s sake in order to get “victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name” (Php 1:28-29, Rev 15:2).

Rev 15:2 And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.

When the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ (Rev 11:15), mankind will be ruled over with a rod of iron (Rev 12:5) which will forcibly bring the empires of mankind into subjection to what will be required by the Lord. Being brought into subjection to God’s truth, which is spirit, is something that is contrary to the flesh of man, and is a life-long dying daily process for those who have God’s spirit within them today, of which no one will have throughout the thousand-year reign (Rom 8:5, Gal 5:17, Rev 20:4).

This chapter of Daniel has many prophetic undertones regarding the conditions that the church will find the world during the rule of the saints, and initially until Satan is loosed for a “little season”, the rulers of those kingdoms will exact judgment upon their citizens if they do not pay homage to Christ and His body. Nebuchadnezzar and Darius both concluded that should be the case once they were privy to bear witness to God’s power in the lives of Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego and Daniel, which are all types of the elect.

Both Nebuchadnezzar and Darius came to terms with the power of God working within God’s servants and acknowledged that no one in their kingdoms should speak anything amiss toward their God (Dan 3:28-29, Dan 6:26). These eras with kings Darius and Nebuchadnezzar are shadows of the compliance that the kingdoms of this world will demonstrate during the reign of Christ and His Christ. God will use the elect as His threshing instrument during the thousand-year reign (Isa 41:15), resulting in the rulers complying just as Nebuchadnezzar and Darius did after seeing God’s power in action. It only takes a “little season”, however many days that is after Satan is loosed, to see all this work undone and a worldwide rebellion against the camp of the saints to ensue. That loosing of Satan for a “little season” will show mankind how fickle we are without God’s spirit that alone can give us power to resist the devil. This rebellion is the predestined occasion that God has in store for all those who will be in fleshly bodies at this time (Rev 20:3, Rev 20:8, Eph 1:11)

Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

These first three verses set the stage for a spirit of envy that is going to manifest, and which was the reason Christ was killed and Daniel became a target of those who were supposed to be his colleagues (Mat 27:17-18, Act 7:9, Pro 23:17). Darius set his carnal fleshly princes up, represented by the number 120 (fleshly 10×12 foundation). Over these 120 there were three presidents of which Daniel was first, and the 120 gave account to the presidents. This is a shadow of how God’s elect, represented by Daniel, will work in conjunction with the ruling class of this world. They will be subservient to Christ and His Christ. It won’t take long for the world to realize the excellent spirit of God within the elect, and like Daniel, the elect will be “preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.” Here’s where the envy comes in and bubbles and brews for as many years as God has determined, until Satan is used to push things over the top, creating a worldwide rebellion against the camp of the saints when he is loosed for a little season (Rev 20:8).

Mat 27:17 Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?
Mat 27:18 For he knew that for envy they had delivered him.

Act 7:9 And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him,

We have dominion over sin now if Christ is ruling and reigning in our hearts (Rom 6:14), yet we still have sin in our members that is being burned out of us and will be until our last days in these corrupt vessels of clay (Rom 2:4, 1Jn 1:7, 1Co 15:31). However, those in the first resurrection, as Daniel is typical of being in this section of the story, won’t be able to sin, typified by this statement: “they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him” (1Jn 3:9).

1Jn 3:9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

Presently we can say our new man cannot sin. It is Christ working in us, our hope of glory [obedience] within (Php 2:12-13, Col 1:27). However, God will cause our old man to err and sin (Pro 24:16) as He seeks an occasion against our flesh (Isa 63:17) to then drag us to Christ (Joh 6:44) to confess our faults, our iniquities, to a faithful Advocate who will forgive us every time (Lev 26:40, 1Jn 1:9-10, 1Jn 2:1).

Dan 6:5 Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.

The “these men” is speaking of “the presidents and princes [who] sought to find occasion against Daniel.” In order to do this, they are going to create a sting operation using “the law of his God” to seek an occasion against Daniel. This is a key way Satan continues to attack the body of Christ and Christ when He was on this earth, as the accuser of the brethren (accusers of the brethren Rev 12:10, false witnesses Mat 26:59-64). They can’t find anything on him, so they will manufacture a situation that will tie the hands of Darius. It’s amazing, God uses “the law of his God” to put Daniel in this precarious position, in conjunction with “the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not“, not to destroy Daniel but to glorify God with the circumstances that will in time have the tables turned on his adversaries. Christ’s lot in life was to be the goat that was sacrificed, and Daniel is a type of the scapegoat which God’s elect are.

Dan 6:6 Then these presidents and princes assembled together to the king, and said thus unto him, King Darius, live for ever.
Dan 6:7 All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.
Dan 6:8 Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.
Dan 6:9 Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree.

In these verses we see how the dirty deed was carried out. What subtlety of spirit we are witnessing, beginning with the flattering words toward Darius, “live for ever” (Gen 3:1, Mat 26:4, Act 13:10, 2Co 11:3). The presidents and princes assembled and wormed their way into getting king Darius to sign this binding decree of the “Medes and Persians, which altereth not” in hopes of having Daniel killed for his noncompliance to the decree (1Jn 3:15).

Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

Daniel, like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, typify the elect who are not afraid of what men can do to their flesh (Mat 10:28), and know to fear God (Luk 12:5), and let God be true and every man a liar (Rom 3:4), and they, and we, ought to obey God rather than men (Act 5:29). These are all scriptures which come to mind, and can be fulfilled in our lives through God’s spirit that can make us more than conquerors through Christ Who can give us the power to endure all things as He strengthens us (Rom 8:37, Php 4:13).

There is overwhelming evidence in scripture that nothing can separate us from the love of God (Heb 11:1-40, Rom 8:32-36), and Daniel knew what the consequences would be for obeying God, but still went to his house and prayed with an open window after knowing the decree was written. An open window is symbolic of his typical liberty in Christ, a window that pointed to Jerusalem which is a symbol of Jerusalem above, the mother of us all, of whose wings we are under and none can take us from (Gal 4:26, Joh 10:27-30). He kneeled upon his knees “three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime” which typifies the process of judgment that is required as we work out of our own salvation with fear and trembling and fervent continual prayer (Php 2:1-13) as Christ did and was heard in that he feared God and not man (Heb 5:7, Mat 26:44).

Gal 4:26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

Joh 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

Mat 26:44 And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.

Dan 6:11 Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God.
Dan 6:12 Then they came near, and spake before the king concerning the king’s decree; Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.
Dan 6:13 Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day.

Just as there is a positive example of being subject to God through a process of judgment [3] in our earth that makes it possible for us to learn of His righteousness (Isa 26:9), in the negative example of judgment if we draw close to the idolatrous ways of men and embrace them for “thirty days“, we will avoid losing our physical life for that bad judgment but won’t find the life of Christ for trying to preserve our flesh (Mat 10:39). It is in this darkened world, in the night, that we are blessed to be judged in this life. The darkness is within us, all the sins of the world, but our hope of glory within is giving us power to overcome that darkness, so that light can come out of darkness (Rev 11:3).

Mat 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

Dan 6:14 Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him.
Dan 6:15 Then these men assembled unto the king, and said unto the king, Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, That no decree nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed.
Dan 6:16 Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.

King Darius was like the wife of Pilate and knew that Daniel was a just man (Mat 27:19) and “was sore displeased with himself” for this turn of events, and from that moment forward “set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him.” In the midst of this anguish the king was feeling, the self-righteous murderers needed to remind the king of the rules of the road, and this likely added to his anger and retribution against them when Daniel was ultimately delivered. All Darius could say at this point was, “Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee“, because he was bound by his own words and knew that only God could save Daniel now. If we seek the Lord will all our heart continually, we are also promised that we will be delivered from all our trials, and will leave a witness to this world of His might and power that can and will deliver (1Co 10:13).

Any rebellion and scheming behind the scenes during the thousand-year reign will be discovered (Luk 8:17), and the tables will be turned on all our adversaries every time, no weapon prospering against us (Isa 54:17).

Luk 8:17 For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.

Dan 6:17 And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel.
Dan 6:18 Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him.

This stone that was laid upon the mouth of the den is reminiscent of the stone put before Christs’ tomb which was rolled away after a great earthquake (Mat 28:2-4). Death had no hold on Christ, and Daniel was not going to be killed but rather spared from the lions that represent Satan and his minions, who if it were possible, would deceive the very elect and sift us (Mat 24:24, Luk 22:31).

“The king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel” represents the gates of hell that won’t prevail against the church (Mat 16:18).

Look at the effect Daniel had on the king: “Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him“, telling us that there will be those during the reign of the saints that will be devoted toward the body of Christ, even though, in the final analysis, all the disciples will forsake Christ not being able to overcome the fear within them, love not being able to be perfected (1Jn 4:18). That is the critical point God is teaching all of humanity who will rebel when Satan is loosed for a season. It is only when His love is shed abroad in our hearts that we will be able to obey the Lord and not just say, “Lord, Lord” and not do the things He commands (Luk 6:46).

Like Mary running early in the morning to see the tomb where Christ was buried, Darius “the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions“ (Mar 16:1-2).

Mar 16:1 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.
Mar 16:2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.

It is when Mary came to the tomb that she, with a lamentable voice, answered the angels first and then Christ Himself regarding why she was weeping. These actions parallel nicely with the emotional status of Darius at this point: “And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?“

Joh 20:12 And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
Joh 20:13 And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.
Joh 20:14 And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.
Joh 20:15 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.

Dan 6:21 Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever.
Dan 6:22 My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.

Daniel in sincerity of heart now says “O king, live for ever” unlike the presidents and princes from earlier. Daniel’s report of an angel staying the mouth of the lions is akin to our knowing that death would have no hold on Christ and those who believe that He is resurrected understand that they are not living their lives in vain (1Co 15:14, Eph 2:6).

1Co 15:14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.

Eph 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

The innocence that was found in Daniel typifies the innocence that will be found in those who are the chaste bride of Christ (2Co 11:2, 1Pe 3:2, Mat 18:3) who will be in that blessed and holy first resurrection. Daniel declares his innocency to the king with these words “O king, have I done no hurt” and reminds us that in the day of others’ visitation if we’ve been given to overcome and endure until the end there will be no condemnation or accusations brought against Christ’s body which has already been judged in this life (1Pe 2:12, Rom 8:1).

1Pe 2:12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.

Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Dan 6:23 Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.

If we “believe on him whom he hath sent“, we can do the work of God (Joh 6:28-29) and no manner of hurt will come upon us spiritually. Whatever we must go through physically, God will make a way where there appears to be none (Isa 43:18-19, Php 3:13-14). This is the lesson being shown regarding Daniel’s deliverance that represents our deliverance from death and sin.

The king was “exceeding glad for him” and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. This moment symbolizes for us the exceeding joy that was felt when Christ was discovered to be resurrected from the dead, alive and unharmed, and is a shadow of the first resurrection as well (Mat 28:5-11, Jud 1:24).

Mat 28:8 And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.

Dan 6:24 And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den.

This verse reminds us that vengeance is God’s against our sinful flesh (Nah 1:2, Deu 32:43, Psa 94:1, Rom 12:9, Rev 22:12). This all seems very “eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth” (Mat 5:38), and it does represent the severity and goodness of God upon all flesh (Rom 11:16-22).

In short, this verse reminds us that no flesh will inherit the kingdom of God, and in order to have a new foundation in Christ we must be judged, and our old Adamic foundation represented by “all their bones” must be broken in order to make a new vessel to His glory. The lions having “mastery” reminds us that Satan can be used masterfully of the Lord to do his bidding as his sword against our old man in our life today, but these lions in the time period that they represent tell us that it is the elect who are represented by these lions who are going to break in shivers nations from afar (Psa 17:13, Rev 2:27).

H7981 “Mastery”
– Transliteration: Shelet (Aramaic)
– Phonetic: shel-ate’
– Definition:

to have power, rule, domineer, rule over

(P’al) have power upon or over, rule, fall upon, assault, be ruler

(Aphel) make ruler

– Origin: corresponding to H7980
– TWOT entry: 3034
– Part(s) of speech: Verb
– Strong’s: (Chaldee); corresponding to H7980: – have the mastery have power bear rule be (make) ruler.

Total KJV Occurrences: 7

mastery, 1Dan_6:24

power, 1 Dan_3:27

rule, 1 Dan_2:39

ruler, 4 Dan_2:38; Dan_2:48; Dan_5:7; Dan_5:16

It is a quick work that God does against our carnal nature in our heavens, symbolized by this statement, “all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den.” There is no heritage for the wickedness of our first man Adam, which is why it is not just those men who accused Daniel who were cast into the den of lions, but also “their children, and their wives“, who represent doctrine and churches; all of Babylon that must be destroyed within us.

Dan 6:25 Then king Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you.
Dan 6:26 I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and stedfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end.

Darius, who is a type of the rulers of “the kingdoms of this world”, declares and makes a decree that is typical of this decree made in Revelation 11:15 stated this way: “That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and stedfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end.“

Rev 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

There will be no end to the peace of God’s government, and Darius makes this declaration that also foreshadows the ongoing peace which will be with God’s government (Isa 9:7): “Then king Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you.“

Isa 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Dan 6:27 He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.
Dan 6:28 So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

These last two verses represent the heritage of the saints in Christ, who by God’s grace, will be sent as Christ was, to “worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth“, delivering the world from “the power of the lions” (Joh 20:21, Joh 3:15-17).

Joh 20:21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

Joh 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Daniel’s prosperity “in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian” is a witness that foreshadows the prosperity of the saints during their rule and reign on this earth, prior to the great white throne judgment (Rev 20:6, Rev 20:11).

Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Rev 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

Finally “He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth“ is another witness of what God can do within the body of Christ whom He has promised to deliver and rescue (1Co 10:13).

1Co 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Study of the Book of Kings – 1Ki 10:14-20 “So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom” – Part 2

Tony Cullen — Thu, 24 Feb 2022 14:40:21 +0000

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xqtbute3egvk1g4/20220225-Study_TonyC-SolomonExceededPt2.m4a?raw=1

1Ki 10:14-20 “So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom” – Part 2

[Study Aired February 24, 2022]

1Ki 10:14 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold,
1Ki 10:15 Beside that he had of the merchantmen, and of the traffick of the spice merchants, and of all the kings of Arabia, and of the governors of the country.
1Ki 10:16 And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundred shekels of gold went to one target.
1Ki 10:17 And he made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three pound of gold went to one shield: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.
1Ki 10:18 Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the best gold.
1Ki 10:19 The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round behind: and there were stays on either side on the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the stays.
1Ki 10:20 And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps: there was not the like made in any kingdom.

The physical things that we are looking at in the temple of Solomon represent the workmanship of God (Eph 2:8-10) within the body of Christ which is the temple of God (1Co 3:16) where we learn that “by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (1Co 15:46, 1Co 2:13-14, Eph 2:8-10).

Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves [Eph 1:6]: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Heb 9:23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
Heb 9:24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, [Col 1:27] now to appear in the presence of God for us [making it possible for us to be “better sacrifices than these” now being accepted in the beloved (Eph 1:6)]:

Col 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

1Co 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual [using the physical (Rom 1:20)].

Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

1Co 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

With these verses in mind, we can now look at the temple and all the interactions that take place around the temple and know for a certainty that God has used all these events for our sakes upon whom the end of the world has come within us (2Co 4:15, 1Co 10:11).

In this section of the book of Kings we will look more at the intricate and very costly workmanship which took place within Solomon’s temple. These riches tell us how valued God’s people are because of the life of Christ within us, the pearl of great price, typified by king Solomon (Mat 13:45-46): “So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom.“

Mat 13:45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls [Son 3:1-11]:
Mat 13:46 Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.

God’s elect are likened “unto a merchant man.“

Son 3:1 By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not [“seeking goodly pearls” (Joh 6:44)].
Son 3:2 I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways [Mat 7:13-14] I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.
Son 3:3 The watchmen that go about the city found me: to whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?
Son 3:4 It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, [Jos 23:7-8, 2Ki 18:5-6] until I had brought him into my mother’s house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me [Gal 4:26, Joh 3:3].

Daughters of Jerusalem represent the elect bride of Christ who has been conceived and born of the will of God (Joh 1:12-13, Rom 8:9):

Son 3:5 I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.
Son 3:6 Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant?
Son 3:7 Behold his bed, which is Solomon’s; threescore valiant men are about it, of the valiant of Israel.
Son 3:8 They all hold swords, being expert in war: every man hath his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night.
Son 3:9 King Solomon made himself a chariot of the wood of Lebanon.
Son 3:10 He made the pillars thereof of silver, the bottom thereof of gold, the covering of it of purple, the midst thereof being paved with love, for the daughters of Jerusalem [‘This section is telling us what Christ does for the bride of Christ‘].
Son 3:11 Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals^H2861, and in the day of the gladness of his heart [Rev 19:9].

It is not only what is in the temple, per se, but also the demonstrated wisdom of Solomon in how he was given to deal with all those who were drawn to the temple to hear the king, as we saw last week with the queen of Sheba who sought out his wisdom. This wisdom of Solomon is a type and shadow of the manifest knowledge of God that will be made known through the church, through the pearl of great price (Col 1:27). His judgments will be in the earth so humanity can learn of His righteousness that can only abide with purified gold and silver (Eph 3:10, Isa 26:9, Php 3:9).

Eph 3:10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

Isa 26:9 With my soul have I desired thee in the night [Son 3:8]; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

Php 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

God has gone to great lengths to impress upon the elect how blessed we are to have the words of eternal life abiding within our temple (Joh 6:68), and that has always been what all this pomp and pageantry that we are going to look at in regard to Solomon’s temple and all the inner workings of the king’s mind is about (Pro 25:3, Rom 11:33). Solomon’s great riches and wisdom represent the mind of Christ that the body of Christ has been given (1Co 2:16, Pro 8:8-14, Pro 3:13-19).

Joh 6:68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.

1Co 2:15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things [2Co 10:5], yet he himself is judged of no man.
1Co 2:16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

The value of the mind of Christ:

Pro 8:8 All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them.
Pro 8:9 They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge.
Pro 8:10 Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold.
Pro 8:11 For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it [Php 3:8].
Pro 8:12 I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions.
Pro 8:13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.
Pro 8:14 Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength.

Pro 3:13 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.
Pro 3:14 For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.
Pro 3:15 She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her [Php 3:8].
Pro 3:16 Length of days is in her right hand [Joh 6:68]; and in her left hand riches and honour.
Pro 3:17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.
Pro 3:18 She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her [1Ti 6:12, Joh 6:68]: and happy is every one that retaineth her [Rev 1:3, Joh 8:31-32].
Pro 3:19 The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens [Heb 9:23-24].

Heb 9:23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
Heb 9:24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself [Col 1:27], now to appear in the presence of God for us: [making it possible for us to be “better sacrifices than these” now being accepted in the beloved (Eph 1:6)]:

The weight of the gold “that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold” (666 talents) apart from (“beside”H905) everything else brought to Solomon via “the merchantmen, and of the traffick of the spice merchants, and of all the kings of Arabia, and of the governors of the country.

That gold represents God’s word that must be purified within God’s people today if we are going to be among those who are working with the nations outwardly during the thousand-year reign. Those nations, and the various kings and governors that Solomon was dealing with at that time in history, represent “The kingdoms of this world [that] are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ” that we will be dealing with during the thousand year reign (Rev 11:15, Rev 20:6).

Rev 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Notice the context when we read of the mark of the beast 666 in Revelation 13:17-18 where it speaks of merchants who symbolize the beast which interacts with Christ who is typified by Solomon, as stated in this section of scripture: “the merchantmen, and of the traffick of the spice merchants, and of all the kings of Arabia, and of the governors of the country“. Like the queen of Sheba who brought gifts to king Solomon due to his wisdom (Rev 18:6-15), so, too, do these “merchantmen” who represent the time in our life when we bring many wonderful works before Christ but they are not upon a burnt offering and not acceptable to God unbeknown to us at that time, as demonstrated in the story of Cain and Abel (Gen 4:5-7).

Rev 13:17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Rev 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man^G444; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

Solomon’s works are typical of Christ’s mindset and His body, which is that we of our own selves can do nothing. We can’t build the temple. Christ has to do that (Joh 5:30, Joh 15:5, Psa 127:1). As mentioned many times, there are three sixes in Revelation 13:17-18, showing the process of spiritual completion through judgment [seals, trumpets, vials – 3] that all mankind (represented by the number 6), must go through, each man in his order.

So, just as we are being judged today for any self-righteous part of Babylon that is still in our heavens, this is the torment the harlot systems of the world are going to receive through the body of Christ, also typified by Solomon (Rev 18:6). We experience God’s wrath first if we are being prepared to be kings and priests who will rule under Him, and so we must understand that we must endure God’s wrath or much tribulation described as seals, trumpets and vials in order to be found clothed with His righteousness when He returns: “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame” (1Pe 4:17, Rev 16:1-14, Act 14:22, Rev 16:15, Rev 19:7).

Rev 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

Outwardly we know that in time all men will be judged, which is the one event that is common to all men of Ecclesiastes 9:2, and we all in our appointed time are the carnal anthropos^G444 man that walks according to the course of this world (Eph 2:2-3) right in lock-step with all “the merchantmen, and of the traffick of the spice merchants, and of all the kings of Arabia, and of the governors of the country” having the mark or the name of the beast , or the number of his name on us and as such are able to buy and sell (Rev 13:17).

Rev 13:17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

Dispensationally, 1 Kings 10:14-15 represents a time when the kingdoms of this world will be ruled over by God’s government which will be looking to make its mark (pun intended) upon the church with the interaction they will have with the government of God that will be ruling over those many nations outwardly (Rev 11:15). God uses this occasion of great exchange to fatten up the nations, and as knowledge increases so will the pride of man which always precedes our destruction (Pro 16:18).

God’s elect are learning these things now, in advance of all the world, and our being judged now is the same process of judgment that the rest of the creation will endure. We are being apprehended by Christ today (Php 3:12), which is the same as saying “He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword [2Sa 12:10]. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints” (Rev 13:10) that leads into the subsequent verses about the mark of the beast (Rev 13:17-18). We must be killed with the sword of God’s word today if we are going to administer those judgments to the rest of the world one day, spoken of as “he that killeth with the sword…”. We will lead the world into the captivity of becoming a living sacrifice for God (Rom 12:1) but can’t do that unless we first go into that captivity ourselves today, as we die daily and present ourselves a living sacrifice unto God!

It takes this experience of evil to come to see what we are; mere beasts that must become a new creation through the destruction of the old, and God seeks the occasion against each man in his appointed day of evil (Rev 20:8, Pro 16:4).

Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

Pro 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

This loosing of Satan at the end of the thousand years is typical of the time when we have thought that we have cleaned up the temple of God so thoroughly and swept it clean [all our exchange of commerce, which is God’s gold and silver in Babylon that we pilfer and wrap around the idols of our own hearts], only to find seven spirits worse come back (Luk 11:25-26). So all of mankind is the same in our corrupt nature, and it’s just the order that is different in which God reveals we are beasts that need to be humbled under His mighty hand through His fiery words of judgment [6.6.6.] (Ecc 3:18, 1Co 15:23-24, Mat 23:12).

It is glorious to contemplate that Solomon truly does represent, in this instance of the book of Kings, those who have been blessed to overcome, typifying outwardly the time when this will happen to God’s elect (Rev 11:15). And this is the inheritance of the saints, already exercised and given to remember these verses which point to the self-righteous flesh of Solomon that naturally resides in our hallowed halls of vanity called flesh, which God can do through Christ (Php 3:9, Mat 6:28-29, Son 2:1-2, Col 1:27, Luk 1:37), God willing.

Php 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Mat 6:28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
Mat 6:29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

Son 2:1 I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.
Son 2:2 As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.

Col 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: [the lily within]

Luk 1:37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.

1Ki 10:16 And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundred shekels of gold went to one target.
1Ki 10:17 And he made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three pound of gold went to one shield: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.

Nothing is impossible for God, and these verses demonstrate for us the armor of God which is given to us to defend against the self-righteousness within us that is typified by “the house of the forest of Lebanon^H3844“ where the king “put them” (the 300 shields), telling us that Christ knows where the battle is, which is in our heavens where we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against powers and principalities that want to enslave us to a self-righteous nature that tries to defend our own existence rather than live by the faith of Christ (Eph 6:12, Eph 2:8).

It must be “beaten gold” meaning it is through much tribulation that we enter into the kingdom of God (Act 14:22, 1Co 9:27), and it is “two hundred targets^H6793” reminding us that it is Christ the true witness [2] who is working this workmanship within us. He is our buckler (Psa 18:2), and of our own selves we can do nothing (Joh 15:5). These “two hundred targets” are the large shields that are needed against the fiery darts of the devil (Eph 6:16) and are forged through the fiery trials of our faith that are precious unto God, seeing they do create this great shield of protection in our heavens that can quench all those darts of the adversary (1Pe 1:7).

target: H6793
tsinnâh
tsin-naw’
Feminine of H6791; a hook (as pointed); also a (large) shield (as if guarding by prickliness); also cold (as piercing): – buckler, cold, hook, shield, target.

Total KJV occurrences: 22

Psa 18:2 The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

1Pe 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

It takes “three hundred shields of beaten gold” which are made up of “three pound of gold went to one shield” demonstrating that God is leading the church into “The Process of Spiritual Completion Through Judgment” as we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (2Pe 3:18). That process is represented by “three pounds of gold” which went into “one shield“. It is not just one shield, however, that keeps the body of Christ safe from the fiery darts of the enemy but rather this second multiple of three’s “three hundred shields of beaten gold” that includes all of the body of Christ, each joint that operates in the measure of faith that God gives us to His glory (Rom 12:1-3, Eph 4:16).

Jdg 7:7 And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place.

[i.e. in reference to “300” being related to the body of Christ; See other examples such as Genesis 6:15 as the length of the ark, Genesis 45:22 as the amount of silver given to Benjamin, Judges 15:4 as the number of foxes Samson caught, and 2 Chronicles 35:8 as the number of oxen given by Josiah’s princes for the passover offering.]

Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service [‘becoming a shield of faith along with the rest of the body of Christ‘].
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God [“grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ“].
Rom 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

Eph 4:16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

1Ki 10:18 Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the best gold.
1Ki 10:19 The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round behind: and there were stays on either side on the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the stays.
1Ki 10:20 And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps: there was not the like made in any kingdom.

The “great throne of ivory” that has been overlaid “with the best gold” represents where the pure and undefiled mind of God resides in our heavens if Christ is in us (Rom 8:9). None of this imagery is going to have any impact on us personally unless we see its inward application for us today (1Co 3:16). This section of Revelation (Rev 4:4-11) brings to light what is unique to God’s elect who have the kingdom of God within them in earnest while in their flesh (Eph 1:14), which is what this typical statement means in its present use: “there was not the like made in any kingdom” (Luk 17:20-21).

ivory^H8127 From ^H8150 [A primitive root; to point (transitively or intransitively); intensively to pierce; figuratively to inculcate: – prick sharp (-en) teach diligently whet.]; a tooth (as sharp); specifically (for H8143) ivory; figuratively a cliff: – crag X forefront ivory X sharp tooth.

Rev 4:4 And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.
Rev 4:5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
Rev 4:6 And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.
Rev 4:7 And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.
Rev 4:8 And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.
Rev 4:9 And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,
Rev 4:10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
Rev 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

That kingdom within us is where Christ resides on the throne of our heart. We enter into God’s presence through Christ through whom we are accepted (Eph 1:6). He is the one who has all power over heaven and earth within us (Mat 28:18), and as such it is possible for us to fulfill God’s will in earth as in heaven through Christ (Mat 6:10) as He works in us both to will and to do of God’s good pleasure (Php 2:12-13). The kingdom of God resides within God’s elect today in earnest and is recognized through the eyes that see and ears that hear, which God has given us (Mat 13:16). We are immeasurably blessed to have this relationship with our Father and Christ that is promised to lead to eternal life (Joh 17:3, Php 1:6).

With these verses in mind, the figures and imagery around the throne of Solomon should take on their true meaning in our heavens. Starting with “The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round behind“. Six steps represent man and how, through Christ in us represented by the witness of a lion on either side of the step, “twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps“, we can transition toward knowing Christ as we grow in the grace and knowledge of Him (2Pe 3:18). Therefore there are twelve lions, one on each side of each step as well as two at the top, one on either side of the throne which represent the finished work of grace and faith that has us abiding beside our Lord.

The “two lions stood beside the stays^H3027“: this word translated “stays” is the Hebrew word ‘yawd’, reminding us all along who it is that was giving us increase up those steps to get to this point of a mature relationship, it was all by his power and direction in our lives (1Co 3:6, Rom 8:14-16).

H3027
yâd
yawd
A primitive word; a hand (the open one (indicating power, means, direction, etc.), in distinction from H3709, the closed one); used (as noun, adverb, etc.) in a great variety of applications, both literally and figuratively, both proximate and remote: – (+ be) able, X about, + armholes, at, axletree, because of, beside, border, X bounty, + broad, [broken-] handed, X by, charge, coast, + consecrate, + creditor, custody, debt, dominion, X enough, + fellowship, force, X from, hand [-staves, -y work], X he, himself, X in, labour, + large, ledge, [left-] handed, means, X mine, ministry, near, X of, X order, ordinance, X our, parts, pain, power, X presumptuously, service, side, sore, state, stay, draw with strength, stroke, + swear, terror, X thee, X by them, X them-selves, X thine own, X thou, through, X throwing, + thumb, times, X to, X under, X us, X wait on, [way-] side, where, + wide, X with (him, me, you), work, + yield, X your-selves.

Total KJV occurrences: 1612

It is God’s hand represented by the stays^H3027–yawd that is behind all the judgment that is taking place from “the top of the throne” where it was “round^H5696 behind:^{H4480 H310}“.

The Strong’s number translated “round^H5696” in the verse: “The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round^H5696 behind: and there were stays on either side on the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the stays“, is used six times in the old covenant, and in most instances is connected to the molten sea or the elect. I’ve copied and pasted those entries here so we can see the obvious connection to judgment and repentance that God’s elect, represented by the “two lions” at the top of the stairs have experienced, and as such are going to be used of our Father to bring the world to give an accounting of all their actions.

1Ki 7:23 And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round^H5696 all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.

1Ki 7:30 And every base had four brasen wheels, and plates of brass: and the four corners thereof had undersetters: under the laver were undersetters molten, at the side of every addition.
1Ki 7:31 And the mouth of it within the chapiter and above was a cubit: but the mouth thereof was round^H5696 after the work of the base, a cubit and an half: and also upon the mouth of it were gravings with their borders, foursquare, not round.
1Ki 7:32 And under the borders were four wheels; and the axletrees of the wheels were joined to the base: and the height of a wheel was a cubit and half a cubit.

1Ki 7:34 And there were four undersetters to the four corners of one base: and the undersetters were of the very base itself.
1Ki 7:35 And in the top of the base was there a round^H5696 compass of half a cubit high: and on the top of the base the ledges thereof and the borders thereof were of the same.
1Ki 7:36 For on the plates of the ledges thereof, and on the borders thereof, he graved cherubims, lions, and palm trees, according to the proportion of every one, and additions round about.

1Ki 10:19 The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round^H5696 behind: and there were stays on either side on the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the stays.^H3027–yawd

2Ch 4:2 Also he made a molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass, and five cubits the height thereof; and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about^H5696.

H5696
‛âgôl
Total KJV Occurrences: 6

round, 6 1Ki_7:23, 1Ki_7:31 (2), 1Ki_7:35, 1Ki_10:19, 2Ch_4:2

Next week, Lord willing, we will look at the last section of this chapter of kings that further brings home the point of why God has given Solomon, who is a type of the elect, such great riches and wisdom which represent the mind of Christ that has been given to His people so we can be sent as Christ was (Joh 20:21) to ultimately bring healing (Psa 107:20) to all the nations without through judgment (1Pe 4:17, Jas 2:13, Oba 1:21, 1Co 6:3, Joh 9:39).

1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

Jas 2:13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.

Oba 1:21 And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S.

1Co 6:3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

Joh 9:39 And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.

Daniel – Dan 6:1-28: And They Brought Daniel, and Cast Him into the Den of Lions

Ato Barnes — Mon, 20 Dec 2021 19:14:10 +0000

https://www.dropbox.com/s/hb1obfmpm9qaptg/20211221-Study_AtoB-DenofLions.m4a?raw=1

Dan 6:1-28 And They Brought Daniel, and Cast Him into the Den of Lions

[Study Aired December 20, 2021]

Dan 6:1 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom;
Dan 6:2 And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage.
Dan 6:3 Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.
Dan 6:4 Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.
Dan 6:5 Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.
Dan 6:6 Then these presidents and princes assembled together to the king, and said thus unto him, King Darius, live for ever.
Dan 6:7 All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.
Dan 6:8 Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.
Dan 6:9 Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree.
Dan 6:10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.
Dan 6:11 Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God.
Dan 6:12 Then they came near, and spake before the king concerning the king’s decree; Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.
Dan 6:13 Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day.
Dan 6:14 Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him.
Dan 6:15 Then these men assembled unto the king, and said unto the king, Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, That no decree nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed.
Dan 6:16 Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.
Dan 6:17 And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel.
Dan 6:18 Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him.
Dan 6:19 Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions.
Dan 6:20 And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?
Dan 6:21 Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever.
Dan 6:22 My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.
Dan 6:23 Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.
Dan 6:24 And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den.
Dan 6:25 Then king Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you.
Dan 6:26 I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and stedfast forever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end.
Dan 6:27 He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.
Dan 6:28 So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

This chapter focuses on the need for the Lord’s chosen or elect to be cast into the den of lions and the mighty hand of the Lord to deliver us in our affliction so that nothing shall by any means hurt us.

Luk 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
Luk 10:20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

Dan 6:1 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom;

Darius here represents our Lord Jesus Christ, and both the princes and the number one hundred and twenty, signify the elect.

Act 1:15 And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,)

The number one hundred and twenty also signifies the time in our lives when our strength has failed, and we are able to rest in the Lord. This means that the elect are those who have no confidence in the flesh and are relying on the Lord.

Deu 31:2 And he said unto them, I am an hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in: also the LORD hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan.

This verse is telling us that presently it is the Lord’s pleasure to set us up (the new man) to rule over the kingdom of the nations within. In the fullness of time, however, our Lord Jesus will set us over the kingdoms of this world.

Luk 12:32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Rev 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

Dan 6:2 And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage.
Dan 6:3 Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.

The three presidents signify the Lord Jesus Christ and His two witnesses, who represent His bride. So, as His elect, we are both the princes and presidents with Jesus as the preferred above the presidents and princes to whom we are to give account. The fact that there are three presidents is to let us know that it is through judgment, or the furnace of affliction, that we are chosen to reign with Christ.

Isa 48:10 Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.

In verse 3, Daniel represents the Lord whom God has set over the whole of His realm and is preferred above us (presidents and princes) because He has an excellent spirit.

Rom 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Heb 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
Heb 1:2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
Heb 1:4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

Heb 1:8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
Heb 1:9 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

Within us the new man has an excellent spirit and is preferred above the old man to reign within us.

Eph 4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Outwardly, verse 3 is saying that at the end of this age, we shall be preferred, just like Daniel, above the presidents and princes of this world as our king Jesus will set us over the kingdoms of this world.

Rom 8:19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

Dan 6:4 Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.
Dan 6:5 Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.

In a negative context, the presidents and princes represent the heathen and the kings of the earth. The kings of the earth are the leaders of Babylon, the churches of this world. Remember that earth symbolizes the people of God who do not hear the words of the Lord and therefore represents Babylon.

Jer 22:29 O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.

As the Lord said, in this world we shall be hated by men (heathens and our brothers and sisters in Babylon). The evil scheming of the presidents and princes against Daniel, as depicted by verses 4 and 5, is therefore the same as the following:

Psa 2:1 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
Psa 2:2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,
Psa 2:3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
Psa 2:4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.
Psa 2:5 Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.
Psa 2:6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
Psa 2:7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
Psa 2:8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.

As our Lord prophesied, we shall be hated by men. This conspiracy against Daniel, who represents the Lord’s anointed, by the presidents, princes, governors, counsellors and the captains is an example of being hated by men, and it is written here for our admonition.

1Co 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

The decree signed by the king says that anyone who petitions any God or man for thirty days apart from the king should be put in the lions’ den. To understand the significance of this decree, we need to know what thirty days and the den of lions stand for. Thirty days or years symbolize the time that we become mature to be enrolled in the service of our Lord. It is also the time that our new man within rules us or dominates us.

Num 4:3 From thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all that enter into the host, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation.

Num 4:23 From thirty years old and upward until fifty years old shalt thou number them; all that enter in to perform the service, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation.

Gen 41:46 And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt.

2Sa 5:4 David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years.

The den of lions represents the noisome beast which is one of God’s four sore judgments.

Eze 14:21 For thus saith the Lord GOD; How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast?

Noisome means evil, and so we have evil beasts as one of God’s judgments. As we are aware, we are this evil beast. This evil beast kills by the sword and must be killed by the sword. The sword is the word of God, so these evil beasts represent the propagators of the word of God in Babylon whose words make us worse off or kill us spiritually.

Ecc 3:18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.

Rev 13:4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
Rev 13:5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
Rev 13:6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
Rev 13:7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
Rev 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Rev 13:9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.
Rev 13:10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

The following verses show what happens to us when we are given to evil beasts or cast unto the den of lions:

2Pe 2:12 But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;
2Pe 2:13 And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;
2Pe 2:14 Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:
2Pe 2:15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
2Pe 2:16 But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man’s voice forbad the madness of the prophet.
2Pe 2:17 These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.
2Pe 2:18 For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.
2Pe 2:19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
2Pe 2:20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
2Pe 2:21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
2Pe 2:22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

In summary, this is what we are being told in Daniel chapter 6 verses 6 to 9: It is written in the books of every elect that before we become mature to perform service in the house of our Lord, represented by thirty days, we are required to petition only the king (Christ) and not any other god. If we flout this rule, then it provides the occasion the Lord is seeking to judge us by giving us over to the dictates of evil beasts (being cast into a den of lions) where we become worse off than when we started.

Dan 6:10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.
Dan 6:11 Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God.
Dan 6:12 Then they came near, and spake before the king concerning the king’s decree; Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.
Dan 6:13 Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day.

These verses show us that Daniel flouted the law that requires that no man petition any God except the king who represents Christ. Even though Daniel willfully flouted this rule, we know from the scriptures that we do not choose to do anything in this world of our own volition, and all our actions are of the Lord.

Jer 10:23 O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.

This means that it is the Lord who caused Daniel to go against the law so that Daniel can be put into the den of lions to serve as an example for all elect that we can mature (represented by thirty days), only when we go through judgment.

1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
1Pe 4:18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

There is no exception to the rule. All must be judged once we go against the law of the Lord.

Jer 49:12 For thus saith the LORD; Behold, they whose judgment was not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunken; and art thou he that shall altogether go unpunished? thou shalt not go unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink of it.

As the law states, we are only to petition the Lord Jesus (symbolized by the king) during the days of our immaturity. However, we end up petitioning other gods instead of Christ. In the case of Daniel, just for the fact that he did not petition God through Christ, he is also guilty. In this sense, all the Old Testament prophets and men of God did not petition God through Christ and therefore are all guilty and therefore need to be judged before they can be perfected.

Heb 11:39 And these all [Old Testament men of God], having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
Heb 11:40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

Dan 6:14 Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him.
Dan 6:15 Then these men assembled unto the king, and said unto the king, Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, That no decree nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed.
Dan 6:16 Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.

These verses are to show us that our Lord feels our pain and all that we go through. He does not leave us alone to suffer.

Psa 103:13 As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.
Psa 103:14 For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.

Heb 4:14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
Heb 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Daniel being thrown in the den of lions means that he experienced God’s judgment just like the Lord Jesus, who never sinned, was judged for our sakes.

On a positive note, a stone represents Christ and His Christ or elect.

Psa 118:22 The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.

1Pe 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
1Pe 2:6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
1Pe 2:7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,

A stone, in a negative context, signifies all that resists Christ in our lives. This is demonstrated by Pharoah and his chariots being cast into the sea like a stone. Within us, this stone represents the beast that resists Christ in our lives.

Exo 15:4 Pharaoh’s chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea.
Exo 15:5 The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone.
Exo 15:16 Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone; till thy people pass over, O LORD, till the people pass over, which thou hast purchased.

So what verse 17 is inferring is that as long as the beast is alive in our lives which are represented by the stone laid at the mouth of the lions’ den, we shall undergo judgment (the lions’ den). It is when the stone is moved away, that is, when the old man is incapacitated, that our judgment ceases.

Dan 6:18 Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him.

This verse is re-emphasizing the point we have already made that our Lord feels our pain in all that we go through.

Heb 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Dan 6:19 Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions.
Dan 6:20 And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?
Dan 6:21 Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever.
Dan 6:22 My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.

Daniel’s response to the king that God had sent His angels to shut the lions’ mouth and that they have not hurt him is another way of saying that with every temptation, our Lord provides a way of escape so that we can bear it.

1Co 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

In verse 22, Daniel told the king that he was innocent and that before the king, he had not hurt him. Does it mean that Daniel is trusting in his self-righteousness as Job did? No, we need to know the condition under which Daniel made this statement. Daniel had gone through many trials from his tender age when he was whisked away from his parents and Jerusalem to a foreign land. We must also understand that Daniel spoke these words of innocence after judgment (lions’ den) and not before. This means that our judgment makes us innocent before God and that we do not keep on hurting our Lord by our way of life. It is another way of saying that our judgment yields righteousness.

Isa 26:8 Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
Isa 26:9 With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

Our judgment is not to hurt us. Rather, it benefits us by making us the beloved of the Lord as we live by His words. It is when we learn righteousness that our Lord will command our judgement to cease.

1Pe 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
1Pe 4:13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

On one hand, our judgment is achieving salvation for us. On the other hand, the suffering of those who are not given to know the mind of Christ in this life hardens their heart and makes them worse off or sends them into more darkness. It is just like the word of God. To us, we are getting more understanding, and to others, it is sending them into more darkness.

Exo 14:19 And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:
Exo 14:20 And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.

Dan 6:25 Then king Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you.
Dan 6:26 I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and stedfast forever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end.

The decree has already gone out throughout the world that we were created to be to the praise of His glory and that men should tremble and fear the Lord. However, the sum of the Lord’s words makes us know that in this life, it is only a few He is causing to tremble and fear Him. In the fullness of time, all humanity will tremble and fear the Lord.

Rev 7:9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
Rev 7:10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
Rev 7:11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,
Rev 7:12 Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.
Rev 7:13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
Rev 7:14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Rev 7:15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.

Dan 6:27 He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.

The Lord working signs and wonders relates to taking us through His judgment to purify us and bring us into our safe haven.

Psa 107:24 These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep.
Psa 107:25 For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
Psa 107:26 They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
Psa 107:27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end.
Psa 107:28 Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
Psa 107:29 He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
Psa 107:30 Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
Psa 107:31 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

Dan 6:28 So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

The name Darius means ‘lord’, and it refers to several kings of Media and Persia. Cyrus, on the other hand, means ‘possess thou the furnace’. Therefore, this verse is another way of telling us that all things work together for the good of our Lord’s elect, who are represented here by Daniel.

Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

What we are being told in verse 28 is that irrespective of those ruling over us or changes in our environment, it is the hand of the Lord at work and will finally work things out for our good. Possessing the furnace is being prepared to suffer for the sake of Christ. Paul gave us an example of what it means to be prepared to suffer for Christ by making the following statement in his speech to the elders at Ephesus:

Act 20:22 And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there:
Act 20:23 Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me.
Act 20:24 But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.

May the Lord give us the strength to say, like Paul, that none of these things (our afflictions) move us. Amen!!

Animals in Scripture – “Leopards, Bears, Lions and a Dragon” – Part 1

Mike Vinson — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:00:01 +0000

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Introduction

All beasts in scripture are used to illustrate the different characteristics of the one beast with which our Lord is working:

Ecc 3:18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.
Ecc 3:19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.
Ecc 3:20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.

This study, as with all our studies, will concern itself with how we can see within ourselves a leopard, a bear, a lion and the dragon, and what these beasts are within us:

Because these three ravenous beasts are mentioned together so often in scripture, we will cover them together but will concentrate on the king of beasts, the lion.

A lion is a ravenous beast, but a lion is more than simply any other ravenous beast. A lion is at the very top of the beast food chain. As such, the lion in scripture is just that; a ravenous beast at the top of the beast food chain, both for good and for evil. In scripture both Christ and Satan are called lions. As is always the case, there is far more written about the lion as Satan than the lion as Christ, but as is also always the case, the lion as Christ destroys the lion as Satan.

The four beasts of Revelation 13

Rev 13:1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
Rev 13:2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as [the feet] of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

The “things of the spirit” in the New Testament reveal that all the physical things of the Old Testament are all part of “the revelation of Jesus Christ… the kingdom of God… within you.” Whether it is Egypt or the promised land, it is now within. Whether it is Abraham’s wealth or Joseph’s rulership over all the land of Egypt, it is all now within each of us. The deeds of all the patriarchs and the kings and the prophets, good and evil, are all within. So, too, are all the nations of the Old Testament. They are one and all within that one single beast which comes up out of the sea. That one ravenous beast has seven heads, yet it is still just one beast.

The Four Beasts of Daniel 7

Dan 7:1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, [and] told the sum of the matters.
Dan 7:2 Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.
Dan 7:3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.
Dan 7:4 The first [was] like a lion, and had eagle’s wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.
Dan 7:5 And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.
Dan 7:6 After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.
Dan 7:7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.

This fourth beast is indeed different from the beasts before it, simply because this fourth beast is likened to both a dragon and a lion:

Rev 12:3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.

1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

When we come to see where heaven is, we then will understand that all four beasts, including the “great red dragon”, are within us. They are all within that one single beast with seven heads and ten horns. Satan is not ‘without’ or outwardly. He is within each of us as our Father until Christ replaces his influence over our flesh.

Joh 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;

Joh 8:37 I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.

Who are Christians who believe in Christ and yet have no place in their hearts for Christ’s Word? Here are whose children we all are at that point of our walk:

Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Is this ravenous lion and dragon really in us at one time?

Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Eph 2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

“We all had our conversation in times past as the children of disobedience, children of wrath, of our father the devil, by nature children of wrath even as others.”

What has been the goal of this “old serpent the dragon” since the garden of Eden?

Rev 12:4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.

That’s right! It was the serpent who enticed Cain to kill Abel, Joseph’s brothers to kill Joseph, Pharaoh to kill Moses, and Herod to kill Christ. Since Christ’s physical time on earth it has been the function of that great serpent from Eden to destroy Christ’s Christ, His elect. Both Abel and Christ were slain, but the “manchild” has always been in heaven at the throne of God, while the mother of God’s elect is “in the wilderness” rebelling ten times against our Lord.

Rev 12:5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and [to] his throne.
Rev 12:6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred [and] threescore days.
Rev 12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
Rev 12:8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

The man child, Michael and his angels, and the dragon and his angels are all “warring in heaven,” warring in our minds.

Rom 7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

What is that “law which wars against the law of my mind?” The answer is right here in this same epistle. It is an enemy that requires “the whole armor of God:”

Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places].
Eph 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Eph 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

“High places” is a terrible translation of the Greek word ‘epouranios‘. This word is much better translated simply as ‘the heavens’. What these verses tell us is that “the war in heaven” of Revelation 12 is war “against spiritual wickedness… again principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world,” all within the heavens within each of God’s elect.

Rev 12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
Rev 12:8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

Rom 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

Satan is a serpent, a dragon and the devil, and as we noted earlier, Satan is also likened to a roaring lion. Satan is not outward. He is within each of us.

1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

According to the Interlinear and the Concordant Version, the definite article goes with ‘adversary’ instead of ‘devil’ here, but in Matthew 4:4, the article is with ‘devil’. Here is the Concordant Version:

1Pe 5:8 Be sober! Watch! For your plaintiff, the Adversary [antidikos], is walking about as a roaring lion, seeking someone to swallow up;(CLV)

Mat 4:1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil [diabolos].

There are many adversaries and many devils, but there is also in the scriptures the devil and the adversary. In both cases the words ‘devil’ and ‘adversary’ are adjectival nouns, which tells us that both the adversary and the devil are spiritual wickedness within, which God sends at His bidding to “work all things after the counsel of His own will.”

Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

I hope we are all coming to see that every word we study, both in their positive and in their negative application, are one and all to be understood as being within each of us. If you come away from this study on the spiritual significance of the lion, the leopard, and the bear in scripture and you do not see them all as being that old serpent the devil, a roaring lion within each of us, then this study will have been of no value to you. We all must “live by every word of God,” and those words are to be lived within us all.

Mat 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Rev 1:3 Blessed [is] he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Rev 22:7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

Since Christ’s words “never pass away”, we all must live them all:

Mat 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

That includes “every word” spoken about lions – both positive and negative – in scripture.

The positive application of lions in scripture

The first time the word ‘lion’ appears in scripture is in relation to Judah as a type of God’s elect. Judah and Jews, like every other word of God’s Word, have both a positive and a negative application in God’s Word. For example:

Rom 2:28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly [negative]; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 2:29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly [positive]; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

Here is Jacob’s blessing of Judah, just before Jacob’s death:

Gen 49:8 Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee.
Gen 49:9 Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?
Gen 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
Gen 49:11 Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:
Gen 49:12 His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.

“Thy father’s children shall bow down before thee” is the same promise Joseph was given in His dreams. In this blessing Judah is both a young and an old lion.

“The vine… the choice vine” is, of course, Christ. In this prophecy, Judah is “washed in wine, in the blood of grapes,” again the blood of Christ:

Mat 26:27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
Mat 26:28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

The lion’s strength and carriage typify the strength and carriage of God’s elect.

Pro 28:1 The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.

Pro 30:29 There be three [things] which go well, yea, four are comely in going:
Pro 30:30 A lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any;
Pro 30:31 A greyhound; an he goat also; and a king, against whom there is no rising up.

The story of King Balak hiring the prophet Balaam to curse Israel

King Balak had hired the prophet Balaam to curse Israel, and the holy spirit compelled Balaam to bless Israel. In that blessing Israel is likened to a lion that “eats of the prey, and drinks the blood of the slain” of God’s enemies.

Num 23:20 Behold, I have received [commandment] to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it.
Num 23:21 He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the LORD his God [is] with him, and the shout of a king [is] among them.
Num 23:22 God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn.
Num 23:23 Surely [there is] no enchantment against Jacob, neither [is there] any divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought!
Num 23:24 Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain.

We have seen in this study that the lion, bear, leopard, and the fourth dreadful and terrible beast of Daniel, are all to be found in the one single beast of Revelation 13 where the fourth great and terrible beast is there called a dragon. We have seen that according to Ecclesiastes 3:18, “the estate of the sons of men, [if] God might manifest it to them, is that they might see that they themselves are beasts.”

Revelation 13 demonstrates that all the beasts of Daniel seven, symbolizing all the world-ruling empires of Daniel’s days, are now all within the single beast, which is each of us.

We have seen that the serpent, the devil and the dragon are all the same evil spirit within each of us as God’s tool to work all things after the counsel of His own will, and that his function from the beginning is to destroy Christ and His Christ.

We have also seen through the blessing of Judah and the use of a lion in several verses in Proverbs that the lion can and does typify the function of God’s elect in relation to preying upon our sinful flesh.

We will continue our study of the ravenous beasts of scripture next week.

[The next installment of this study can be found here.]

Animals in Scripture – “Leopards, Bears, Lions, and a Dragon” – Part 2

Mike Vinson — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:00:01 +0000

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Introduction

We saw last week that the lion, bear, leopard and the fourth dreadful and terrible beast of Daniel, are all to be found in the one single beast of Revelation 13 where the fourth great and terrible beast is there in Revelation, called a dragon.

We saw that according to Ecclesiastes 3:18, “the estate of the sons of men, [if] God… manifests it to them, is that… they themselves are beasts.” Revelation 13 demonstrates that all the beasts of Daniel 7, symbolizing all the world-ruling empires of Daniel’s days, are now all within the single beast, which is each of us.

Note how physical are Old Testament types:

Dan 7:16 I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things.
Dan 7:17 These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.
Dan 7:18 But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.

The kingdoms of all four beasts are “the [one single] kingdom [which] the saints take and possess for ever.” We can now see that this kingdom is the same kingdom which Christ tells us is the new heavens and earth within us as God’s elect:

Luk 17:20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

We saw that the “old serpent, the devil, and the dragon” are all the same evil spirit within each of us as God’s tool to work all things after the counsel of His own will. We saw that from the beginning the function of the adversary was to destroy Christ and His Christ.

We have also seen through the blessing of Judah and the use of a lion in several verses in Proverbs, that the lion can and does typify the function of God’s elect in relation to preying upon our sinful flesh and upon the dragon within us.

Just like Aaron’s rod which became a serpent and devoured the serpents of Egypt’s magicians, so the lion of the tribe of Judah devours “your adversary the devil… as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.”

1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

Heb 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

We now continue our study of the ravenous beasts of scripture.

A lion as both positive and negative

No story in scripture shows both the positive and negative application of a lion more that the story of Samson taking a wife of the Philistine city of Timnath.

Jdg 14:1 And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.
Jdg 14:2 And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.
Jdg 14:3 Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.
Jdg 14:4 But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.
Jdg 14:5 Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him.
Jdg 14:6 And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done.
Jdg 14:7 And he went down, and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well.
Jdg 14:8 And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, [ there was] a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion.
Jdg 14:9 And he took thereof in his hands, and went on eating, and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they did eat: but he told not them that he had taken the honey out of the carcase of the lion.
Jdg 14:10 So his father went down unto the woman: and Samson made there a feast; for so used the young men to do.
Jdg 14:11 And it came to pass, when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him.
Jdg 14:12 And Samson said unto them, I will now put forth a riddle unto you: if ye can certainly declare it me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty sheets and thirty change of garments:
Jdg 14:13 But if ye cannot declare it me, then shall ye give me thirty sheets and thirty change of garments. And they said unto him, Put forth thy riddle, that we may hear it.
Jdg 14:14 And he said unto them, Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness. And they could not in three days expound the riddle.

This riddle of Samson should bring to mind the words of Joshua in response to the ten spies who “gave a bad report” of the land:

Num 14:6 And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes:
Num 14:7 And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land.
Num 14:8 If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey [The milk and honey we enjoy in the promised land as babes in Christ].
Num 14:9 Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not [“Out of the eater came forth meat”].

Joshua and Caleb felt like Samson when the spirit of the Lord came on him:

Jdg 14:6 And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him [the lion] as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done.

All the works of ‘the lion’ against us become “bread for us.” “Out of the eater comes forth meat, and out of the strong comes forth sweetness.”

A lion devours God’s sheep and is capable of even devouring a lone unarmed shepherd. It is a rare shepherd indeed who is capable of slaying a lion and a bear that come into his father’s flock. A shepherd who can slay a lion and a bear can also go on to slay giant Philistines in the land.

1Sa 17:34 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock:
1Sa 17:35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.
1Sa 17:36 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.
1Sa 17:37 David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.

What all ravenous beasts look for in their prey

One characteristic common to all beasts of prey is their attraction to the very young, the weak and the old. In other words, ravenous beasts of prey prefer the weak and will avoid the strong if they can. All such beasts want their prey to come to them. They are all patient until they make their move.

Bears and leopards are more solitary and stalk their prey over a long area, while lions work together and surprise their prey. In every case they all prey upon the weak.

Psa 10:8 He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent: his eyes are privily set against the poor.
Psa 10:9 He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den: he lieth in wait to catch the poor: he doth catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net.
Psa 10:10 He croucheth, and humbleth [Hebrew: bowed down] himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones.

The adversary within preys upon us when we are spiritually poor.

Pro 28:15 As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear; so is a wicked ruler over the poor people.

Don’t be spiritually poor. Be “very rich in silver and in gold…”

Gen 13:2 And Abram [was] very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.

Those whose riches are in heaven have a lion which destroys the things of the flesh while taking strength and nourishment from doing so.

Pro 30:29 There be three things which go well, yea, four are comely in going:
Pro 30:30 A lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any;
Pro 30:31 A greyhound; an he goat also; and a king, against whom there is no rising up.

The lion and all beasts of prey are just instruments in the hand of a loving Father who will bring us all to overcome and devour the sinful flesh which “in time past” we have all been. When we finally come to see this, then even the ravenous lion, leopard, and bear are seen to be what they are, instruments of God used to destroy our sinful flesh:

Isa 5:29 Their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it.

Even Samson was devoured by that adversary who “as a roaring lion seeks whom he may devour:”

1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

Jdg 16:15 And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth.
Jdg 16:16 And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death;
Jdg 16:17 That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother’s womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.
Jdg 16:18 And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand.
Jdg 16:19 And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.
Jdg 16:20 And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him.
Jdg 16:21 But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.

Jdg 16:28 And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.
Jdg 16:29 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left.
Jdg 16:30 And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with [all his] might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that [were] therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than [they] which he slew in his life.

We have seen in this study what happened to Samson in us when we underestimate the power of the adversary. When we underestimate his constant, ever presence within us, strength over our flesh, he will have us for lunch.

So what are we to do? Should we fear the adversary? Not at all! Here again is what we are to do:

1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

Who is a sober, vigilant person? Who is it that knows how to neutralize “that old serpent the devil and Satan?” It is the person who loves God and keeps His commandments. That is who will have no fear:

1Jn 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
1Jn 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

1Jn 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

Here is how we handle the adversary within us:

Eph 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places].
Eph 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Eph 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
Eph 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Eph 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Eph 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

There is never a time to lose control when dealing with the adversary:

Jdg 1:9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.

God’s elect never rail or accuse. They simply speak the Truth and the Truth destroys darkness and lies with ease.

Ecc 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this [is] the whole [duty] of man.

The word ‘duty’ is not in the ielHebrew. The message is that man is not whole until he comes to know God:

Joh 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

Next week we will see what the scriptures reveal is the fate of the four beasts of Daniel 7 and Revelation 13. It is a wonderful ending.

[Next installment of this series is here.]

Animals in Scripture – “Sheep”

Mike Vinson — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:00:01 +0000

Audio Links

Download “Sheep” Part 1

Download “Sheep” Part 2

Introduction – ‘Sheep’ and ‘Lamb’ as Christ

As with every word of scripture, the word ‘sheep’ has a meaning behind it that has nothing at all to do with a four legged barnyard animal. What then does this word typify?

In answering this question we must remember that God’s Word is completely “Christ-centric.” We are told that the book of Revelation is “the Revelation of Jesus Christ.” It is a completely Christ-centered book. Now, since “the sum of Thy Word is Truth” (Psa 119:160 ASV), and since “Christ is that Truth” (Joh 14:6) and “is the Word” (Joh 1:1), that makes the entirety of God’s Word Christ-centered.

Psa 119:160 The sum of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting. (ASV, ESV, etc.)

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Since the sum of God’s Word is Truth and since Christ says “I am the Truth,” it adds not one Word to the Word of God to say that Christ is the sum of God’s Word and that the whole of the Bible is indeed ‘Christ-centric.’

What does all this have to do with the word ‘sheep’ in scripture? It tells us that this word ‘sheep’ is centered around Christ. If we can keep this in mind, we will much better understand what Christ means when we see the words, sheep, lamb or ram in scripture. If Christ is in us, then we, too, must identify with these words ‘sheep’ and ‘lamb.’

Who is “the lamb of God?

Joh 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

Joh 1:32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
Joh 1:33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
Joh 1:34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.
Joh 1:35 Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples;
Joh 1:36 And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!

If Christ is a lamb, what does that make us?

1Jn 4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

In what way are we sheep?

Psa 100:3 Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Christ calls us His lambs and His sheep. He mentions the lambs first but only once. He mentions the sheep twice and last. Christ, through His elect sheep, feeds both His lambs and His sheep.

Joh 21:15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, [son] of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
Joh 21:16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, [son] of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
Joh 21:17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

“Feed my sheep,” not ‘feed upon my sheep’ but “feed my sheep. When we see the sheep being abused, we take it to our Father:

Gen 37:2 These [are] the generations of Jacob. Joseph, [being] seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.

Joseph was in Babylon when his eyes began to be opened to the fact that His brothers didn’t really care for the welfare of their Father as much as for themselves.

Joseph’s brothers were so interested in their own welfare that they later sold Joseph for two pieces of silver each – twenty pieces of silver (Benjamin was not involved in this betrayal).

What are a sheep’s natural enemies?

Many biblical animals prey upon sheep. Scripturally sheep are the natural prey for lions, leopards, bears, and wolves:

1Sa 17:33 And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.
1Sa 17:34 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock:
1Sa 17:35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.
1Sa 17:36 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.

The true shepherd does not leave God’s sheep to the lions, leopards, bears or wolves. He fights for His flock, and He slays the lion, the leopard, the bear and the wolf, and takes God’s lambs “out of his (the lion’s) mouth.” David was a true shepherd who had laid his life down for His father’s sheep. It was that same spirit which led him to lay his life down for King Saul and to fight Goliath, the giant who defied God.

David’s service for His heavenly father, just like ours, also began in Babylon. Later David comes to see that God has a rejected anointed, who wants God’s elect dead:

Psa 17:11 They have now compassed us in our steps: they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth;
Psa 17:12 Like as a lion that is greedy [ kasaph] of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.
Psa 17:13 Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:

All the beasts of the forest prey on God’s backslidden flock:

Jer 5:6 Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities: every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased.

Eze 22:25 There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof.
Eze 22:26 Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.
Eze 22:27 Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain.

Zep 3:3 Her princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow.

Our prophets, priests and princes, like lions, bears and evening wolves, all destroy God’s sheep.

Until the day that Christ delivers us from the lion, leopard, bear, and wolf

Joh 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
Joh 10:12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. [The ‘wolf’ comes in the hireling. The hireling is the wolf.]

Mat 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Mat 10:16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

We are all “dumb sheep” who “follow strangers and go astray” before we become “wise as serpents” to be are “sent among wolves.”

Act 20:27 For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.
Act 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
Act 20:29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
Act 20:30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.

“To draw away disciples” means that these false prophets are willing to leave off part of “the counsel of God” which may be a little too hard to maintain a good sized congregation.

Isa 30:10 Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:

“It takes a congregation of at least 30 regular attendees to make it worth while.” That is a quote from a minister friend of mine.

2Ti 4:14 Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works:
2Ti 4:15 Of whom be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words.
2Ti 4:16 At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: [I pray God] that it may not be laid to their charge.
2Ti 4:17 Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.

Even when ‘David delivers us out of the lion’s mouth’ we are still “sheep sent forth among wolves.”

The positive application of all of a sheep’s enemies

Num 23:23 Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought!
Num 23:24 Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain.
Num 23:25 And Balak said unto Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all.

It is only through our destruction as foolish sheep that “our own sins… evil men [as] God’s sword” judge us and crush us and humble us to be used of God.

Do you want to “be delivered out of the mouth of the lion?” The only way to do so is to go into the lion’s den. We all are in danger in the lion’s den and in the fiery furnace. No, we are willing to die, we actually lay our lives down for God, and in so doing are delivered out of the fire and out of the mouth of the lion.

Conclusion -“My sheep know My Voice…”

It is a wonderful truth that God’s true sheep know his voice:

Joh 10:1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
Joh 10:2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
Joh 10:3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
Joh 10:4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
Joh 10:5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.
Joh 10:6 This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them.
Joh 10:7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
Joh 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
Joh 10:12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.
Joh 10:13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.
Joh 10:14 I am the good shepherd, and know my [sheep], and am known of mine.
Joh 10:15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
Joh 10:16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, [and] one shepherd.

Before we “know His voice” we “follow many strangers” and “go astray”.

Psa 119:176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments.

Isa 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Jer 50:6 My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away [on] the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their restingplace.

Eph 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Eph 2:3 Among whom also we all [Isa 53:6] had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

The Old Testament made it clear who that “lost sheep” was.

Mat 18:12 How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?

If we can see that we are that lost sheep which has gone astray and been deceived by our own shepherds, then we just might be given ears to hear the voice of our true shepherd:

Joh 10:24 Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.
Joh 10:25 Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me.
Joh 10:26 But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.
Joh 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
Joh 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

Christ is the “good shepherd.” He is also the door to the sheepfold, and He tells us, “He that enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.”

Joh 10:2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

So along with calling His elect “the light of the world” and “one bread”, we are now also called “the shepherd of the sheep” if we enter the sheepfold through the door to the sheepfold. “As He is, so are we in this world.”

1Jn 4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

One more thing Christ is that we also are is a lamb and a sheep. As John the Baptist said of Christ,

Joh 1:36 And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!

The world should see Christ in us. We are the lambs of the Lamb; what our Savior calls saviors:

Joh 21:15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, [son] of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.

Joh 20:21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

Neh 9:27 Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, who vexed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest [them] from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies.

Oba 1:21 And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S.

In Christ, you are that fire of the lake of fire.

Isa 33:14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
Isa 33:15 He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;

In Christ, you are Christ’s lambs who will also be “saviors on Mount Zion”.

There can be no greater calling. Lay hold upon that calling:

1Ti 6:12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

1Ti 6:19 Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

Heb 6:18 That by two immutable things, in which [it was] impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
Heb 6:19 Which [hope] we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;
Heb 6:20 Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

I will close by reminding you that in this world you are as Christ is, and the world should be able to say of you:

Joh 1:36 And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!

[The next installment of this study can be found here.]